October 18th, 2022: Petfre Limited, the owner of Oddsking.com and Betfred Casino, is fined £2.8m for its failure to fully implement several anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility policies. The fine concerns the rules under Section 121 of the 2005 Gambling Act. In addition, a warning was also issued to the company under Section 117 (1) (a) of the Gambling Act. The fine covers the company’s offences between October 2019 and December 2020.
A Series of Recorded Lapses
The Gambling Commission noted several lapses by the company in implementing responsible gambling and anti-money laundering initiatives. According to the records, one player lost £70,000 in 10 hours within the day after opening an account. Another player was contacted by the Support when they deposited £20,700 and lost £10,200. However, the Commission noted that the next communication between the player and management happened after four months after the same player deposited another £323,715 and lost £69,371.
According to the Gambling Commission, the company violated paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Social Responsibility Code of Practice which covers customer interaction. With these lapses, the bookmaker will receive an official warning from the UK Gambling Commission.
According to Leanne Oxley, the Director of Enforcement and Intelligence, the action of the Commission (imposition of fine and warning is “a further example of us taking action to investigate and sanction alarming failures”.
She explained further that they “expect this gambling business and all other licensees to review this case and look closely to see if they need to make further improvements to demonstrate active compliance. Where standards do not improve, tougher enforcement will follow.”
The Gambling Commission’s findings focus on the failure of the company to implement policies against terrorist financing and money laundering. Specifically, the Commission highlighted the company’s failure to identify policies, procedures, and other controls to address these risks. According to the Commission, the company lacks employee training, is poor in analyzing transactions, has insufficient AML, and lacks diligence in checking customer backgrounds.
Gambling Commission Continues to Tighten the Rules
This isn’t the first time the Gambling Commission imposed fines on a gambling site this year. A few days ago, the Gambling Commission fined Betway for marketing on a children’s website. According to reports, Betway’s logo appeared on a West Ham United FC webpage that contains a colouring-in activity. In addition, other operators have been the subject of the Commission’s recent actions, including Entain, Smarkets, and SpreadEx.
About Petfre Limited and Betfred
Petfre Limited is a Gibraltar-based company that runs Betfred. The company operates with a remote license from the Gibraltar Gambling Commission, one of the leading casino gaming jurisdictions. Petfre Limited and Betfred are owned by brothers Fred and Peter Done. According to reports, the fine is equivalent to approximately two days worth of revenue for the company.
